Daughter of the Alliance
by psycho-rag-doll
Summary: While stopped on a planet, Mal & company come across an odd girl dropped from a neighboring ship. Bringing her on board, her mysterious nature comes into play. Is the Alliance now on board Serenity? please Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1

"Jayne, conceal your weapon."

"Capt'n--"

"**Now**."

Captain Malcolm Reynolds and most of his crew were wandering around in a local street market on a planet that they happened to have had a job on mal decided that since the job had gone well, and work was a bit slow, the crew might as well unwind a bit in the fresh air. He was hoping to make it an inconspicuous trip but Jayne was making it mighty hard.

"Capt'n, I've seen 'bout a dozen other people who's guns have been hanging out for all to see, not to mention some **other** things…."

"But how many of those other people are a part of my crew?" asked Mal. "Let me do the math for you- **none**. Now conceal it."

Grumbling, Jayne did as the captain ordered. "The gorram fugitives ain't even with us…."

Mal sighed and decided to ignore it. True as it was that Simon and River weren't with them, Mal knew bringing attention to his group wasn't the smartest idea.

Malcolm Reynolds felt like a father more and more each day. It all started when he bought Serenity; she was his baby. And then, when he started getting crew members gathered, he began to think of the ship as his wife, the crew as kids. Kinda creepy, he knew, but that's why he kept the thoughts to himself.

He looked behind him and smiled. Maybe the ship wasn't his wife, and the crew his kids, but he knew deep down, him and his crew were tighter than family. Mal was always breaking up tussles, most caused by or including Jayne. Things were said, and punishments given. But in the end, they protected each other, no matter the circumstances.

Involved in his thoughts, Mal almost missed the turn to the area where shoppers and vendors could park their ships. He was brought back to reality by Zoë yelling "Captain!", which caught his attention and made his collision with a pole hit with less force.

Mal took a few wobbly steps back and rubbed his forehead. Muttering all sorts of curse words in Chinese, he turned towards his crew, who were standing a few feet away, ready to head back to Serenity. Mal could tell Wash was trying his hardest not to laugh out loud. Holding his head high, Mal started his way to the ship yard.

Zoë caught up with him. "Are you okay, sir?" she asked, easily falling in stride with him.

"I'm fine." said Mal, not wanting to talk about it.

"You hit that pole awful hard, sir."

"Yes, I realize that. But I'm fine." Zoë gave the captain her 'don't-pull-that-crap-with-me' stare. "What?" he asked.

"Dude, Mal, are you okay?" asked Wash, catching up. "Maybe you should have Simon--"

"I'm **fine**." said Mal. "But if it'll stop people from worrying about it, I'll have the doctor look at it."

The group was almost at Serenity. A nearby ship was getting ready to take off. Mal and the others stopped, and waited for the ship to get air-born.

The ship was a few feet off the ground when something fell out of the ship.

"Hey!" Mal yelled. "You dropped something!"

But the ship kept getting higher and higher. Mal walked over to the object. It looked like a large duffle bag.

"What's that?" asked Jayne.

Mal bent down, but could find no form of identification of who the bag belonged to. Mal found the zipper and began to pull it.

"Mal, what are you doing?!" asked Wash.

"Seeing if I can find any sort of identification."

"If there's any money, I say we keep it," said Jayne.

Mal ignored him and pulled the zipper again. The bag wasn't open all the way. But it didn't need to be.

"Oh my god," he said.

"Is that….?" asked Wash.

"Yup," said Mal, zipping the bag back up. "It's a body."

"Well, what are we gonna do with a body?" asked Jayne.

"Take it back to Simon," said Mal, picking up one end of the bag. "Zoë, help me with this."

"Why is it whenever we find mysterious packages, it's always a body and never anything of value?" grumbled Jayne as he and Wash followed the captain and Zoë to Serenity.



Kaylee greeted the group as they made their way aboard the ship. "Hey Capt'n!" she said in her ever cheerful, innocent way.

"Where's Simon?" asked Mal, sidestepping her.

"He's in the infirmary," said Kaylee. "Why--"

But the captain and Zoë were already up the stairs. Kaylee turned to Wash and Jayne.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Mal found a body," said Wash.

"What?!" said Kaylee. "Was it a…. **dead** body?"

"Dunno." said Wash, heading up the stairs. Jayne and Kaylee followed.

"Simon!" said Mal as he and Zoë burst into the infirmary. "Need your assistance."

Simon turned and found a very odd sight indeed. The captain and Zoë walked over to the table in the middle of the room and laid a large duffle bag on it.

"What--"

But before Simon could get his question out, Mal unzipped the bag. Simon looked over the captain's shoulder and found himself looking at a young girl, who appeared to be asleep.

"Well…" Simon said. "This is an…. **interesting** purchase….."

"Didn't buy her, doc. Found her. Just like this."

"So, I'm confused. What is it you want **me** to do?"

"First, you can tell me if she's dead or not." said Mal.

Simon nodded and took a step towards the body in the bag. He found the girl's wrist, and checked for a pulse. He put a hand in front of her nose. "She's alive," he said. "Breathing's shallow….. most likely knocked unconscious."

"So, now what?" asked Mal.

Simon turned. "I… don't know. I could give her some drugs to assist in waking her…."

"Then do that." said Mal.

"Can you get her out of the bag first?" asked Simon, going to the counter and preparing the shot.

Zoë and Mal did as the doctor asked. Carefully, they got the girl out of the bag. Looking inside, they found clothes and other assorted things.

"We should probably take these and look for some ID," said Mal. "Is that okay, doc?"

"Hang on," said Simon, as he moved to the girl. He began unbuttoning her shirt.

"Doctor, what in the hell do you think you're doing?" asked the captain.

"I need to see if she has any broken bones or other damage," said Simon. Zoë moved to the table to help him. mal took this as a sign to move out into the hallway.

After a few moments, Zoë and Simon appeared beside Mal. Zoë had the girl's clothes in her hand.

"I gave her the drugs, but there's no telling when she'll come to," said Simon.

"Very well, doctor," said Mal. "Let's see if we can find anything useful in this bag."

"She was wearing this," said Simon, holding up a thin gold chain. On the chain was a small gold circle, with the letter 'A' written in very neat calligraphy. It was a good necklace, probably worth a lot.

"What's the 'A' stand for?" asked Mal.

"I don't know," said Simon. "Maybe her name?"

"Hm," said Captain Reynolds. He, Zoë and Simon made their way to the kitchen to sort through her things in the bag. Simon slipped the necklace into his pocket, but didn't notice when it fell right back out, onto the floor right in front of the infirmary. "What can you tell me about her at this point?" asked Mal.

"Caucasian female, most likely no more than twenty, no younger than fourteen. There were no broken bones, lacerations or other visible damage. There was, however, a tattoo on her right arm."

"What of?"

"A purple butterfly."

Mal looked at the young doctor. A purple butterfly? What the hell?

Meanwhile, back in the infirmary, the young girl with the strange tattoo was beginning to stir.


	2. Chapter 2

The young girl opened her eyes. Why was she so stiff? And cold? She looked around at all the metal and shiny stuff surrounding her. 'Where am I?' she thought. She looked down at herself. A thin brown blanket covered her. 'And why am I naked?'

Carefully, she got off the table, keeping the blanket around her. Finding a needle and thread used for surgery stitches, she stitched the sides of the blanket together, so it looked like she was wearing a toga, as the people sometimes did in the days of old on Earth-that-was. Then the girl realized something. Her necklace! It was gone! Frantic, she began to search for it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw it lying on the floor, just outside of the metal-filled room. She crept out, picked it up and slipped it over her head. She looked around at the new surroundings.

'Such a strange ship,' the girl thought. 'Nothing at all like mine.'



While Simon, Zoë and Mal were in the kitchen, River had wandered in. the three didn't really pay any mind to her. They couldn't find any sort of identification for the strange girl they'd brought aboard in the mysterious black bag.

"Let me see that necklace again, Doctor," said Mal.

Simon reached in his pocket, but his fingers couldn't find the chain. 'Crap,' he thought. 'I must have dropped it.'

"They're here," River said, suddenly crying out. "They're here and they want me to go back. They want it back; they want to replace it again!"

Simon rushed over to his sister. "River," he said, trying his best to console her. "Shh, it's okay."

While Simon was talking quietly to River, Kaylee walked in. "Is she okay?" she asked.

"Yes," said Simon, who had managed to get River to stop her whimpering.

Kaylee looked to the random assortment of clothes and things spread out on the table. "What's all this stuff?" she asked.

"Stuff that came with the girl," said Zoë, starting to pack it all back up.

"Shiny," said Kaylee. "So, what'd you do with the girl?"

"She's in the infirmary," said Mal.

"No she ain't." said Kaylee, which registered looks of confusing and slight alarm from the other three.

"What are you talking about?" asked Simon.

"Ain't no one in the infirmary now," said Kaylee. "I just passed it."

Simon, Mal and Zoë looked at each other and ran out of the room.



The girl heard footsteps. Many footsteps. They sounded like they were running. In **her** direction. She ducked into the shadows by the door to the infirmary.

A group of three adults, an older man, a younger man and a light skinned African American lady, showed up. The younger man made it down the stairs first; he ran into the infirmary.

"Captain, she's not in here!" he said.

The older man, the captain apparently, began cursing under his breath in Chinese. The girl, still hiding in the shadows, carefully reached out and swiped his gun from the holster.

The three adults quickly ran out. The girl heard the captain give orders above. A search party, for her? 'How nice,' she thought, creeping out from the shadows. She climbed the stairs, and saw the captain searching the storage/loading dock area of the ship. He was alone.

'I don't want to hurt anyone,' the girl thought to herself. 'But I need to find out where I am and get my clothes back.' Making sure that the captain's back was still turned towards her, she crept down the stairs. The captain was now walking towards the middle of the floor. 'Perfect,' thought the girl. 'A wide open space.' She walked up behind the captain and placed the butt of his gun to his back. At the same time, she said "Don't make any sudden movements."

'What the?' thought Mal, who instinctively reached for his gun. But all he got was the butt of the gun pressed deeper into his back.

"Looking for your gun?" said the same strange female voice.

'River?' thought Mal. "Now listen here, little one--"

"Captain!" said Simon, who had just appeared at the top of the stairway, with Kaylee, Inara, Book and…

'River?' thought Mal, seeing the girl standing up by her brother.

"Capt'n, what the hell?" asked Jayne, who was up above. He was holding one of his precious guns, freshly polished no doubt.

"Don't shoot at the Captain yet," said Zoë, who was standing across from Simon and friends with Wash. Her gun was trained on the girl behind the captain.

"Don't shoot at me at all!" said Mal, wondering what in the hell was going on.

"Nobody shoots," said the girl. "And the captain won't die."

"Captain," said Zoë, wanting orders.

Mal cut her off by slightly moving his hand. To the girl behind him, he asked "Will you allow my crew to come down?" If he could get everyone down here, maybe the girl'd back off and he could get some answers.

The girl considered it. "Fine," she said. Everyone above took a step down. "But," said the girl, causing everyone to freeze. "If anyone shoots, I kill the captain."

It seemed as though everyone was holding their breath, especially Mal. His crew made their way down. Simon basically had to drag River, who had started to whimper again. When everyone was down in front of the girl and Mal, the girl dragged him back so they almost formed a circle. Taking the gun out of his back and aiming it at his head, the captain and his crew looked at the girl.

"You're the girl Mal brought on," said Simon, wondering what was going on.

"What the hell's going on?" asked Jayne.

"That's what **I** want to know," said the girl. Everyone, Mal included, looked at her.

She looked somewhat small, standing there with the captain's gun in hand and a strange brown thing draped over her like a toga. Her light brown hair hung limply around her shoulders, her dark olive green eyes set in stone, like her face. A slight sparkle of gold was around her neck, and a purple butterfly stood out against the pale skin of her right arm.

"Is… is that the blanket from the infirmary?" asked Simon.

"Yes," said the girl. "You took my clothes. I had to think of something."

"Can we all just put the guns down?" asked Wash.

"Mine goes down when yours do." said the girl.

"Captain?" asked Zoë. As long as Mal was alive, she wouldn't make decisions or back down. This was a sticky situation.

Mal nodded. His crew put their weapons down, Jayne a bit grudgingly. The girl watched, silent, her eyes always moving, always watching everything. When she felt comfortable, she placed the gun on the floor and kicked it behind her. A few members twitched for their guns.

"I don't need a gun to kill you," whispered the girl. Mal's hand twitched, signaling for his crew to stay still.

"What are your demands?" asked Mal.

"To get information." said the girl.

"And trust me, that's all **we** want," said Mal. "Twenty questions?"

"What am I doing on this ship?" asked the girl. Mal took this as a 'yes' to twenty questions.

"We found you. You were dropped out of a ship near ours in a black bag. Inside the bag were some clothes we assume to be yours. Who are you?"

"Diamond. Where is this mysterious bag of which you speak?"

"In the kitchen. If your name is Diamond, why did that necklace the doctor found and then dropped have an 'A' on it?"

"So that's why I found the necklace somewhere other than on my person."

"Don't avoid the question."

"Don't pry."

"Then the game's over."

"Do you want me to kill you in front of your crew, or in private?"

Mal stopped. He'd have to watch himself if he didn't want to die. But he'd been in more dangerous conditions. He considered his next question. "Will you please explain the 'A' on your necklace when your name clearly starts with a 'D'?"

The girl, Diamond, was silent for a moment. "Fine," she said. "It stands for the people who own me."

"Own you?" asked Mal. "People ain't property. They can be rented out at times, but they can't be **owned**."

Inara glared at Mal. Even in a life threatening situation he found room to ridicule her occupation. 'Men,' she thought, sighing. 'I will never understand them.'

"Obviously you aren't aware of my owners. Which is strange," said Diamond. "I thought everyone in the 'verse knew of the Alliance." 


	3. Chapter 3

'Alliance?' thought everyone standing in the circle. 'The Alliance has a member onboard Serenity without anyone knowing.'. The air was tense. Was this all a set-up to get Simon and River?

"You say the Alliance owns you. Do you mean that your parents are members?" asked Shepherd Book, breaking the silence.

Diamond looked at him. "In a sense," she said. "But you probably mean that God is my father, so he's everywhere and whatnot."

"How'd you know he was a shepherd?" asked Mal. Inside information from the Alliance, perhaps? Shepherd **did** have some sort of connection to them; an injury and a flick of an identification card had gotten him onboard the Alliance ship without a second glance.

"Same why I knew you were Captain," said Diamond. "He had that 'aura' about him." Okay, so maybe that's **not** how she knew Mal was the captain. But still. One look at Shepherd Book, and you'd either think he was a man of God or crazy.

"I have an 'aura' about me?" asked Mal.

"You dare doubt anything I say?" asked Diamond. Mal sighed and decided to drop it.

"So, when you say your parents are members of the Alliance 'in a sense', what do you mean?" asked Wash.

"What I mean," Diamond said. "Is that… I…. don't really know my parents."

"You poor thing," said Kaylee.

"And just what the hell does that mean?" asked Jayne. Diamond gave him a hard stare. "Well, if you'd stop talking in gorram riddles--"

"Maybe if you'd drop the tough act--"

"It ain't no act, Missy."

"**Stop."** Mal said. He didn't need a fight breaking out. They were practically walking on eggshells as it was. He turned to Diamond. "What's your story? I want it straight. **Now**."

Diamond looked at the captain, deciding whether to obey or not. Finally, she opened her mouth. "As long as I can remember, I've been with the Alliance. No specific parents. They raised me and trained me."

"So, how is it that you drop from a ship in a bag?"

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is walking down one of the corridors on the ship. Then the next thing I knew, I was on this strange ship, naked. Care to explain **that** little fact, Captain?"

"We had to make sure you weren't dead." said Mal.

"That's interesting," said Diamond. "I didn't realize that checking for a pulse required one being undressed by others."

"You were unconscious."

"And you're a pervert."

Mal stared at Diamond. She stared right back. "Crew meeting," said Mal. "Kitchen. Now." He turned to Jayne. "You stay here with her."

"What? Capt'n--"

"No arguing." Mal turned and walked away, the others following. On the way out, Mal picked up his gun.



Kaylee, Zoë, Wash, Inara, Simon, River and Book sat at the kitchen table, with Mal at the head.

"So," he said. "What are we going to do?"

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" asked Wash.

Mal nodded. "At this point, yes."

"What about Simon and River?" asked Kaylee. "Does Diamond know about them?"

"Hard to say," said Mal. "I'd assume so, living with the Alliance and all, but I'm not going to bring it up. At this point, assume she knows nothing."

"But what are we going to do with her?" asked Simon.

"I say we just drop her off at the next planet we come to that's safe enough for us to land on," said Zoë, her military training coming into play. She knew that there was a possible enemy in base camp. And they had to get rid of her.

"No, we can't!" said Kaylee. "She's practically an orphan!"

"Well, we can't just take her back to the Alliance," said Book. "But I don't know if it's wise for us to keep her here."

"How long 'til we reach the next planet Wash?" asked Mal.

"About a day and a half, two days tops." said Wash.

Mal nodded. "We keep her on the ship in plain sight 'til then. Doctor, you have drugs to knock her unconscious, correct?"

"Captain!" said Kaylee.

"Mal, that's just low," said Inara.

"Sir?" asked Zoë.

"Doctor?" asked Mal, ignoring the maternal instinct attacking him. Simon nodded.

"Good." said Mal. "Set her up in one of the bunks near Book and you and your sister. We'll all keep a two hour watch on her through the night, in pairs. We don't know what she does or doesn't know, but we can't have her sneaking around the ship." Mal was remembering the last time they had a mysterious passenger sneaking around. He had turned out to be a mole from the Alliance, trying to get Simon and River back. Mal certainly hoped this would not play out similarly.

Everyone took this as a closing statement. They dispersed, Kaylee, Simon and River going to prepare a bunk for their guest. Wash went back to the controls to set course and to play with his dinosaurs. Mal, Zoë, Book and Inara headed in the opposite direction to release Jayne from his watch. On the way out, Mal grabbed the bag Diamond had arrived in.

The group arrived at the top of the stairs. The scene that was playing out before them was very strange. Jayne was lying on the floor on his back. Diamond was standing next to him, one foot on his chest, gun in hand.

"Say it," Diamond said.

"I ain't saying **nothin'**." said Jayne. His eyes bulged out a bit as the girl applied a bit more pressure.

Jayne's hand was clasped around her ankle, but couldn't move it. He was pinned like a butterfly on Styrofoam.

"Get off," Jayne managed to say.

"Why?" asked Diamond. "Is a little bit of pressure hurting the wittle sissy girl?"

"It don't hurt, and I ain't a little sissy girl!"

"Your name is Jayne. Could you **be** anymore of a girl?"

"What exactly is going on here?" asked Mal, beginning to decent down the stairs. Diamond looked up and Jayne turned his head as much as he could.

"Self-defense," said Diamond. "He was going to attack me. What else could I do?"

"Jayne?" asked Mal.

Jayne opened his mouth to speak, but was having a difficult time. He looked up at Diamond. "Uncle," he muttered.

Mal bit his tongue as Diamond removed her foot. "Now that wasn't so hard, now was it?" she asked. She turned to the Captain. "Oh, are those my clothes?" she asked, pointing to the bag in Mal's hand.

"Yeah," he said, handing the bag to her. "Zoë, 'Nara, take her to her bunk and let her get out of that blanket."

Zoë nodded, and she and Inara led Diamond up the stairs. Mal looked down at Jayne, who was now in a sitting position with one hand on his chest.

"Uncle?" asked Mal. "Really?"


	4. Chapter 4

That evening after an awkward dinner filled with averted eyes, stained silences and some sort of brown protein stuff, Diamond led herself to the little parlor-like area outside of the infirmary. She supposed it was somewhat of a waiting room, but it looked more like an area that you would go to when you wanted to relax with friends. Friends. 'Psh, who needs friends?' thought Diamond. She looked towards where the extra bunks were. They were nice; plain, but good enough.

While Diamond was spacing out, Kaylee came down the stairs. She noticed the guest of the ship sitting alone. "Hey," called Kaylee.

Diamond looked up. The mechanic had appeared. "Hi," said Diamond. The mechanic came down the steps and sat down near Diamond.

"How do you like Serenity?" asked Kaylee.

"It's nice," said Diamond. "You must put a lot of effort into keeping her running."

Kaylee smiled. "It's shiny. She always tells me when something happens before it gets too bad."

"The ship talks to you?"

"Of course."

"Huh," said Diamond, starting to space out again. The ship talked to it's mechanic? It looked like the preacher wasn't the only crazy one on board. In fact, it was starting to seem like **everyone** on the ship was a little screwed up in the head.

"Are you okay?" asked Kaylee. "You seem kinda… sad."

Diamond looked to the girl sitting across from her with grease on her hands. She couldn't be much older than Diamond. How was it that she was always so bubbly? Hadn't she seen what the world can be? "I'm fine," said Diamond, smiling.

"Homesick?"

Diamond thought. "I don't know. Home is where your parents are, and I don't really know them…."

"Home is where you make it," said Kaylee. "Besides, you gotta know something about your parents."

"Well… I know that they named me Diamond because that's the hardest substance in the 'verse, at least on earth-that-was. They wanted me to be as strong as I could."

"Wow," said Kaylee. "That's shiny. What about your tattoo? Is there some significance to that?"

"A lot, actually," said Diamond. She turned so her right arm was facing Kaylee. Rolling the black sleeve of her shirt up, she said, "The color purple represents royalty. The members of the Alliance consider themselves to be the highest ranking order in the 'verse." 'Do I sound like I'm bragging?' Diamond thought to herself. 'Well, maybe I am, just a little. So what?'

"And the shape of the butterfly?" asked Mal, as he led the rest of the crew down the stairs. They spread out, all looking at Diamond.

"Traveling with a posse now, Captain?" asked Diamond. Before Mal could answer her, or set his stoniest gaze upon her, she said, "Yes, there's symbolism for the shape of the butterfly. There's the presence of innocence and staying young at heart. But it also represents agility, fragility, freedom. The butterfly represents more than you'd think."

"How 'bout death?" asked Jayne. "Could it mean that?" His tone was mocking. Diamond wanted to hit him.

"Of course," she said. "That's why **I **have it." The group surrounding her startled. "The butterfly," Diamond explained. "Could mean death to some people. It is said in ancient tales that when a butterfly lands upon someone, they are destined to die within the fortnight. And as the person lies on their deathbed, taking their last breaths, the butterfly comes back and lands lightly on them, giving them the kiss of death."

"So… why do you have it?" asked Wash.

"On my home ship, I'm known as The Butterfly. A messenger of death."

The air between the group members was tense, filled with nervous energy. Messenger of death? What did this mean for Serenity and her crew?

"Now, if you'll excuse me," said Diamond standing up. "I think I'll just show myself to my bunk."

The group watched as Diamond left. Once her door shut, everyone started talking in hushed tones.

"'The Butterfly'?" asked Simon. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"About ten years ago, this new killer came on the scene," said Zoë. "No one knew what she looked like, or where she came from. There were rumors that she was some sort of robot from the Alliance, but it was all taken as a tall tale."

"It **is** a tall tale." said Mal.

"If it's a story…." said Book.

Zoë sighed. "Story says if you see her, you're destined to die, most likely by her hand. She's a bad luck omen."

"But if no one knows what she looks like…" said Kaylee.

"You'll know it's her when you see her." said Zoë.

"Capt'n, we've gotta get her off the ship." said Jayne. "I don't wanna die in a fortnight."

"Do you even know how long a fortnight is?" asked Simon.

"Don't matter." said Jayne.

"Enough," said Mal. "We're dropping her off next planet that's safe to land on. 'Till then, keep your mouth shut about certain things."

The crew murmured their acceptance to these terms, and dispersed. Pretty soon, it was Mal and Zoë standing in the darkened room.

"Captain?" asked Zoë.

"It's a story. That's all it is."

"Whatever you say, sir." said Zoë, climbing the stairs. "I'll go tell Kaylee that you and her are on the first watch shift."

Mal watched as Zoë climbed the stairs. When she was out of range, he walked towards Diamond's bunk.



When Diamond had left the group, she'd gone into her plain bunk and changed out of her clothes. Now she stood in the middle of the room, wearing baggy pants and a brown silk undershirt. A knock on her door brought her out of a slight trance. "Yes?" she called.

The door opened to reveal the captain. "Captain," Diamond said, nodding in his direction.

Mal walked into the room. "Is everything satisfactory?" he asked.

"Of course," said Diamond.

"There's nothing missing?"

"No."

"How 'bout from your story?"

Diamond looked at the captain. "My story?" she asked.

"Are you really telling all?" asked Mal. "Or are you hiding something?"

"Like what?" asked Diamond. "Like the things** you're** hiding?"

'Simon and River?' thought Mal. 'Well, she claims she's from the Alliance…' "What do you think I'm hiding?"

"I don't know," said the girl. "But you're definitely hiding something."

"What makes you so certain?"

"The twitchy one."

'River?" "Oh, she's just--"

"She?" asked Diamond. "I was talking about that guy. Jayne." Mal swallowed his laughter and hoped that he hadn't revealed to much by saying River's name. "What's his issue, anyway?" asked Diamond.

"He tends to get an itchy trigger finger at times." said Mal.

"Dangerous on a fellow his size."

"Better for a person your size?" The girl looked up at him. "You didn't hesitate to cock a gun in both my and Jayne's direction."

"Self-protection."

"So you say." Mal made his way towards the door.

"Captain?"

Mal turned. "What?"

"What happened to you?"

"Huh?"

"There's a bruise beginning to form on your forehead."

Mal turned and walked out, not saying a word.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Mal went back down to Diamond's bunk. There was no one else around, which made Mal slightly nervous. If no one was on watch, then Diamond could sneak out and wander the ship. 'Who was supposed to be on watch now, anyway?' Mal thought to himself. 'Oh, wait. I think it was supposed to be me.' He knocked on the door to the bunk and got no reply. Opening the door, he found himself in an empty room filled with the reality of his correct suspicions.

'Gorramit,' he thought. 'She's disappeared again.' Keeping a hand on his gun, Mal turned and went up to stairs. Glancing down to the loading dock of the ship, Mal continued his brisk walk down the catwalk towards the kitchen. He nearly ran into Inara as she was coming out of her shuttle.

"Mal," she said, sidestepping so she didn't get knocked into. "What's going on?"

"Diamond's disappeared again."

"Disappeared? What about the watch shifts?"

"I told Kaylee that she didn't necessarily have to do another one."

"So **you** lost Diamond."

"I didn't lose her," said Mal. "I don't know how she does it, but she's slick."

"Thanks Captain."

Mal and Inara looked up. Diamond was perched on the catwalk above them. "Morning!" she called.

"How'd you get up there?" asked Mal.

"The stairs," said Diamond.

'Great,' thought Mal. 'I'm transporting a smartass from the Alliance. Could my life get any better?' "Well, get down."

Diamond stood up and climbed down the stairs. Mal stared at her as she made her way towards him and Inara.

"What?" asked Diamond.

"What are you wearing?" asked Mal.

Diamond looked down at herself. She could find nothing wrong with her outfit. She always wore an olive-green tee, black cargo Capri pants, pink fishnet tights and black combat boots back home. She had recently received the purple elbow-length arm warmers with a butterfly outline at the tops of them. Her hair was in two pigtails on the sides of her head, revealing the two rings and single ear-cuff on each ear. The only other accessory she wore was her necklace, which was mostly hidden under her shirt except for a small glinting of the chain around her neck. Diamond looked up at Mal. "What's wrong with it?" she asked.

'River has better fashion sense,' thought Mal. 'And she's crazy.' "It--"

"Looks great," said Inara, cutting the captain short. She wasn't going to let him hurt the girl's feelings. So what if it didn't really match? Diamond somehow managed to pull it off.

Mal looked at Inara, then back at Diamond. "Right," he said, turning and heading for the kitchen.

Everyone was seated at the table, eating, when Mal, 'Nara and Diamond walked in. As Mal sat down, he realized that his hand was still on his gun.

Diamond stood quietly to the side of the table in partial shadow. There was no place set for her, but she didn't really expect any. She had sort of barged in. Not necessarily of her own accord, but still. And last night had been all shuffling and trying to give her space. Diamond didn't want to draw attention to herself.

"Diamond, you can sit here," said Kaylee, standing up and scooting her chair over. She found the small stool from the night before and set it next to her own chair. Diamond cautiously walked over and sat down while Kaylee got another plate and silverware set from the kitchen.

Everyone glanced over to see how civilized Jayne and Diamond could be with each other while seated next to each other. River actually stayed quiet, as though she'd come to terms with a member of the Alliance being on the ship.

Diamond noticed the silence of the table and knew the reason for it. She wished she was invisible. But she couldn't let her discomfort show to this group. They feared the Alliance somewhat. She couldn't let that disappear. So she held her head high, and made it through one of the most tense meals Serenity had ever had.



After the meal, Diamond slunk away to her bunk. Once inside, she flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. She appreciated Kaylee's attempt at friendship, but she knew it would never be. Captain Reynolds was going to drop her off the same way he had found her. Diamond didn't blame him. He was scared. 'Besides,' she thought to herself. 'Who needs friends when you can scare the crap out of everyone that you meet?'

But Diamond found herself getting restless. She might as well make the best of this situation. And she had always wanted to explore a Firefly class ship.

Opening the door to her bunk, Diamond peeked out. No one was there, so she made her leave. She passed by the infirmary where the doctor and the crazy girl were. Diamond hurried past the doorway and up the stairs, hoping that neither of them had seen her.

As she walked along the catwalk above the loading dock, she saw Jayne and the shepherd bench pressing weights. 'I could lift ten pounds more,' Diamond thought to herself. She continued her walking.

Inara was in her shuttle, doing whatever it is that companions do in their spare time. Diamond decided against exploring **that** area of the ship.

Diamond heard Mal and Zoë talking about something in the kitchen. Glancing in, she saw that both their backs were turned towards her. She darted across the doorway and continued her exploring.

She heard Kaylee banging around in the engine room, humming to herself. 'How can she be so happy all the time?' thought Diamond. She almost went in the engine room, but decided against it for reasons unknown. She walked past the bunks of the Captain, Kaylee, Zoë and Wash, and Jayne. Then she had somehow made it to the bridge. She quietly climbed the stairs, and stopped at the doorway. The pilot's back was to her. She could tell that he was trying to find the nearest planet to land on, so they could dump her off and be on their merry way. Was there really no one in the 'verse who wanted her?

At that moment, Wash turned around. "Ah!" he said, very surprised to find a girl standing behind him.

Diamond looked up from the floor. "Oh, sorry," she said. "I… I was just leaving."

"No, it's shiny." said Wash. "I just wasn't expecting you to be there." He looked at the girl. "What are you doing up here anyway?"

Diamond shrugged and took a step closer to the man. "I don't know," she said. "I just got tired of waiting for fate by myself."

"You know about that?" asked Wash. "I mean, about the… drugs and the.."

"Yeah," said Diamond. "Well, I didn't really know for sure, but you've just confirmed my suspicions."

"My bad," said Wash.

"It's okay." said Diamond. "No one else has ever wanted me. Why should you guys be any different? I mean, you already hate the Alliance, so you guys are kind of obliged to hate me." With a sad sort of smile, Diamond turned on her heel and left Wash with his dinosaurs.


	6. Chapter 6

Diamond decided to ride out the rest of the journey in her bunk. Alone. She'd noticed on the screen behind Wash that they were nearing a planet, and would be there in a few hours tops, granted they didn't run into any problems. Diamond knew that she could easily cause a diversion that would delay them at least two hours. 'But what's the use?' she asked herself. 'They'll eventually get back on track. Or they might not even drop me off on a planet. They could just push me into the blackness.' She didn't doubt that the crew would stop at little more than murder on the Alliance.

Diamond closed the door to her bunk and sat on the bed. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. It was happening again. 'You think that I'd be used to this by now,' thought Diamond.

Meanwhile, Wash had set the cruise control and went to find Mal. He and Zoë were still in the kitchen. They both looked up when Wash entered.

"Hey," he said. "We'll be hitting atom in a few hours, landing shortly after."

Mal nodded. "Okay," he said.

"Listen, Mal, do you think we could, I don't know, hold off on the drugs for the girl? Or better yet, not dump her off at all?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I think she could be of use to us."

"Wash, she's part of the Alliance. We have to get rid of her. The sooner the better."

"Mal, please. Don't you think it's kind of harsh?"

"Murder'd be harsh. This is exactly what she deserves."

"And even then, murder might be what she deserves," said Zoë.

"Alliance trash ain't no use to us." said Mal.

"Well, she isn't doin' us no harm now, is she?" asked Wash. "I think she needs this."

"She needs this or you need this?" asked Mal. "Which brings up the question of what the hell is goin' on?"

Wash sighed. "She came up to the bridge," he explained. "She said she wasn't surprised about this. She said no one else has ever wanted her, so why should we be different?"

"So she knows we plan on drugging her?" asked Mal.

Wash nodded. Mal cursed under his breath, and then said "Do you think you could get us to that planet any sooner?"

"I can try to get us there in little over an hour," said Wash, as he turned and went back to his safe haven. "But then we'll need to fuel up."

"You thinkin' there could be an attack or something, sir?" asked Zoë.

"Best not to take chances," said Mal, turning to leave the kitchen. "How come nothing ever goes as planned?"



Wash was true to his word. He hit atom of the planet in seventy-five minutes. Mal climbed out of his bunk and headed towards Diamond's.

On the way he almost ran into Simon, who had a syringe in his hand.

"Doctor," said Mal. "Do you think it's smart to walk around with an open needle full of drugs?"

"I was just on my way to give Diamond the cocktail to knock her out."

"Change of plans. No drugs."

"But--"

"**No drugs**."

Simon sighed and walked back to the infirmary. Mal continued on his way to the girl's bunk.

He opened the door to find Diamond sitting on the floor in the bag that she had arrived in. She looked up when the door opened.

"Captain," she said, with a nod of her head. Then she rolled up her sleeve so the butterfly tattoo showed.

"Stand up." said Mal.

"But I thought--"

"We're not giving you any drugs," said Mal. "Now come on. We're almost landed."

Diamond stood and stepped out of the bag. Then she zipped it shut and grabbed the handles in one swift movement.

Mal turned on his heel and walked out of the bunk with Diamond following. He led her down to the cargo bay where Jayne was standing, one of his many guns in hand.

"Stay here," said Mal, as he turned and climbed the stairs.

Jayne looked at Diamond. "I'd like you to meet Vera," he said. Diamond just stared blankly at him.

"Play nice," Mal called, as he turned the corner. He walked onto the bridge where Zoë and Wash were.

"So what's the plan, sir?" asked Zoë.

"We land, we get her off, we leave." said Mal.

"Wait, you're just going to leave her in the middle of nowhere?" asked Wash.

"Do you have any other suggestions?" asked Mal. "You think you'd be happy, seeing as I just went against reason and didn't give her any drugs."

"You could at least walk her into the nearest town."

Mal stared at his pilot. Why was he so particular about what happened to Diamond? Whatever the reason, Mal was getting tired of it.

"Why are you so particular about what happens to the girl?" Zoë asked her husband.

"Particular? I'm not particular. Mal, am I particular?"

"You do seem a might touchy about it."

"I just… don't think she's all that evil." said Wash.

"She's a member of the Alliance!" said Mal.

"Yes, but a young, corruptible member," said Wash. "We can still try to change her over to our side."

"What kid would turn against their parents, especially when they're members of the Alliance?" asked Zoë.

"What kid wouldn't?" asked Wash.

"We got enough trouble headin' our direction every day," said Mal. "Ain't no reason to invite more to stay with us as a permanent guest."

Mal and Zoë left Wash to land Serenity.

"So, any change of plans, sir?" asked Zoë, as they made their way down to the cargo bay.

"Still decidin' on that," said Mal.

Serenity landed in the middle of a desert area, just as planned. Mal looked at Diamond, who was sitting on the floor, staring at the large metal doors that led to the outside world.

Thinking about the options carefully but quickly, Mal walked up next to Diamond as Zoë hit the button to open the doors. "Come on," he said as the sunlight began to creep across the dirty floor.

Zoë walked over next to the Captain, Jayne behind them. Diamond stood up slowly, without looking at any of them. This was it. The moment of her abandonment. And without drugs, she would have to face it head on.



The group of four stepped onto the sandy patch that Wash had landed on. They looked around at the vast nothingness.

"Where the hell are we?" asked Jayne.

"Don't matter," said Mal. "We're not staying here long."

"Captain," said Zoë. "Our captive's wandering away."

Mal looked around. He spotted Diamond a few meters away, walking at a steady pace, her back towards him.

"Hey," he called, as he, Zoë and Jayne walked after her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"The city." said Diamond.

"How the hell do you know where a city is on this gorram rock?" asked Jayne.

Diamond shrugged. "Don't," she said, looking at the adult faces. She knew that they didn't believe her. Big surprise there. "The footprints," she said.

"Footprints?" asked Mal.

Diamond nodded and pointed down at the ground. There, in the sand, were some very faint footprints headed in the direction that they were walking. They were so faint you had to be looking for them to see them. "I noticed some back by the ship, but none going the other way. So I figured they have to lead towards some sort of civilization."

"Well, aren't you just the little trailblazer," said Mal. "Let's keep moving.


	7. Chapter 7

The group continued walking, following the footprints. Diamond wished the others would just go back to the ship and leave her alone. After all, wasn't that the mission that they had set out to complete? She hitched the bag up her shoulder and continued walking, avoiding all eye contact.

Mal and Zoë were suspicious of Diamond. Was she really just following some footprints that just happened to be there? Or had she been there before and was leading them into an Alliance ambush?

"Sir, is that what I think it is?" asked Zoë, pointing ahead.

"Yup," said Mal. "That's a city."

The group was nearing what looked to be city limits. They walked up to the first building they came to. It looked like a store, but it was hard to tell, seeing as they were at the back of it. Jayne walked around to the front, while the other three stayed back.

"You guys can leave anytime. You know that, right?" asked Diamond.

"But your company is just so heartwarming, it's hard to leave," said Mal.

"Capt'n!" yelled Jayne. He walked around the corner of the building. "Ain't nobody here, Mal."

The group followed Jayne back around the building. Indeed, there wasn't another soul around. It was a ghost town.

Zoë peered into a window of the store. All the shelves were stocked. "Sir, I don't think this was an abandonment."

Mal looked into the window as well. Then he said, "They have to be somewhere. People don't just up and leave a town like this for no reason."

"Yeah," said Jayne. "Maybe they're all just at a gorram tea party."

"Too bad you weren't invited," Diamond said under her breath.

Mal walked out into the middle of the street. No matter which way he looked, he could see no evidence of a human being. "C'mon," he said, walking deeper into town.

Zoë and Jayne followed. Mal looked back and noticed Diamond was just standing under the roof of the store, leaning up against a post, arms crossed.

"What?" she asked. "You expect me to follow you like a dog?"

"Yes," said Mal.

"Why?" asked Diamond, coming out from under the shade of the roof. "I'm not part of your crew. You've made that blatantly clear. Why should I listen to you?"

"Because I've done more for you than I should have," said Mal. "I should have dropped you out of the ship the moment you said you were Alliance. But I kept you on my ship."

"Yes, so you could drop me on this godforsaken rock. And you've done just that. So leave!"

"Nobody tells me what to do," said Mal.

"Not according to the Alliance feeds. Seems to me that they told you to surrender, and you did just that, back at the battle of Serenity battle," said Diamond, hitting the one soft spot in Mal. "Pretty stupid to name your boat after that loss. Trying to make up for all the men you lost? For all the--"

"You just don't shut up, do you?" asked Mal.

"Why don't you make me shut up?" asked Diamond. "Or tell one of your cronies to do it. They seem to follow orders like the little brain-deads that they are."

Mal started yelling various curses and names in Chinese, as did Diamond. They got in each other's faces, even though Diamond was a few inches shorter than Mal. They took fighting stances.

And then the first shot was fired. It sounded loud in the deserted street. It landed not three feet from the group of four.

The group stared at the bullet for a moment, and then ran back behind the store.

"You gorram punk!" said Jayne as they ran. "You organized this ambush on us!"

"Yes," said Diamond. "In the middle of nowhere, I managed to call multiple members of the Alliance to leave the comfort of their own ship to come here and shoot your ass off." She looked at Jayne. "What a wonderful plan. I'm so glad it worked and almost got me shot."

The group leaned up against the store wall. "I'm gettin' real tired of your backsass," said Jayne.

"Am I backsassing?" asked Diamond. "Oh, I'm **so** sorry. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways. I'll stop immediately because you're getting tired of it. Because I care that much for you."

"Stop." said Mal. Both he and Zoë had pulled their guns out. "We don't know who shot at us, but we do know we ain't leavin' without a fight." He walked up to the corner of the building. Peeking around, Mal saw that the area was still empty. But he knew that the moment he or anyone else set foot out there, there would be many more bullets flying through the air.

He looked back at his group. He saw the tension in the air between Jayne and Diamond. If he didn't move, there would be bullets flying back here. "Okay," he said quietly. "On my signal, we run out."

"Sir," said Zoë. "Are you sure that's such a good idea? We don't know who or how many are out there."

"Well, whoever they are, they are about to learn the greatest lesson of all." He flicked the safety off his gun. "Nobody shoots at Malcolm Reynolds without retaliation."

He looked back at Jayne. "Let's go!" he said.

"But--" said Diamond. But no one was paying her any attention. The three adults ran out, guns ablazin'. Diamond sighed, and went to the corner where the Captain had stood seconds before. Glancing out, she saw that there were bullets in the air, mostly from Jayne. She heard the thumps of the attackers' bodies hitting the ground.

'I could easily sneak off,' Diamond thought. 'I could go back to the ship and tell everyone that the others were dead, and that we should leave ASAP. But of course, the pilot would be devastated and want to see his wife's corpse. But after he leaves the ship, I could fly off. It can't be that difficult to fly a junker like Serenity. But who knows who's waiting on the way to Serenity. And with no real weapon…'

That's when Diamond noticed a glimmer up on the roof of the building across from the store. Looking up, she saw a man creeping across the roof and then setting up a gun. 'A sharpshooter,' she told herself. Then she noticed where the gun was pointing. Right at the Captain's back. 'It'll probably go through his heart,' Diamond thought. She looked out. Zoë and Jayne were busy with their own targets. No one else had noticed the sniper.

'Gorramit,' Diamond thought. She knew that the next few seconds were critical. She dropped her bag and ran out into the open.

"Captain!" she called. In the next few moments, a multitude of events happened as a chain reaction. Zoë and Jayne turned to Diamond, Mal turned and noticed the sharpshooter, the sharpshooter fired, Diamond knocked Mal out of the way, Zoë and Jayne fired and hit the sniper. Finally, the air was silent; the last of the bullets had been shot.

Mal looked at Jayne and Zoë, a look of semi-confusion on his face. Then he looked down at Diamond, who had fallen to the ground. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head, sighing.

The bullet had missed him, but had hit Diamond in the arm. And from the position of where the bullet hit, it appeared as though the purple butterfly was crying tears of blood.


	8. Chapter 8

"Jayne, go get the bag," said Mal.

"Why?"

"Just do it," said Mal. Jayne walked over to the store where Diamond's bag was still lying on the ground, grumbling all the way. Zoë stood next to Mal.

"She going to be okay?" she asked.

"Hard tellin'," said Mal.

Diamond opened her eyes and sat up slowly. With a small gasp of pain, she switched her weight onto her left arm. She rolled the bloody arm warmer down her arm. Flexing, she said, "Damn."

Jayne walked up with Diamond's bag in hand. Grabbing it, Diamond unzipped it and rummaged around in it. A ripping noise came from within the bag, and Diamond pulled out a strip of cloth. Putting one end in her mouth, she managed to tie the strip tightly around her wound.

Then she zipped the bag shut and stood up. "Well, Captain, it's been fun. We'll have to do it again in Hell."

Turning, Diamond took a few steps away and then collapsed. Walking over to her, Mal could see that she had passed out, either from shock, blood loss, or both.

"Zoë," he said. She walked over to him and they carefully put Diamond back in the bag. Then they picked the bag up, and headed back towards Serenity.

"Capt'n, what the hell are you doin'? I thought we was just gonna leave her here!" said Jayne.

"Slight change of plans," said Mal. He tossed a radio to Jayne. "Call Wash. Tell him to have Simon get the infirmary ready. We'll be there in five minutes."



An hour later, Diamond awoke to find herself back on the table in the infirmary. 'At least I'm still dressed,' she thought. She looked around. There was a blood covered bullet in a tray on the counter. 'No doubt from my arm,' she told herself. She looked down and saw a white bandage around her arm, where her tourniquet had been. There was a heart monitor beeping behind her, measuring her stats by a chord attached to her chest.

At that moment, Mal walked in. "Good," he said. "You're awake."

Diamond stared at him, resisting the urge to say something smart. Instead, she asked, "Why am I here?"

"Because you got shot."

'Looks like I'm not the only smartass on board,' Diamond thought. 'Well, two can play that game.' "Really? I thought white bandages on the arm were the new style."

"Well, you'd know all about style, wouldn't you?" asked Mal, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest, apparently settling in.

"Why am I back on the ship?" asked Diamond, ignoring the outfit slam.

"Would you rather be on that planet, alone, where no one wants you?"

Diamond crossed her arms, ignoring the sharp pain in her right arm, and looked away from the Captain. "Are you trying to say that **you** want me?" she asked, a biting, disbelieving edge to her voice. "You saved my life, I saved yours. We're even."

"You can leave," said Mal. "As soon as you tell me the truth. Your parents aren't really Alliance, are they?"

Diamond was quiet for a moment. Then she quietly said, "No."

"Then why--"

"Because they took me," Diamond said, looking at Mal, fire in her eyes.

"The Alliance took you?"

Diamond nodded. "My parents died when I wasn't even a year old. Some friends of theirs took me in. When I was three, the Alliance came to our planet. Something had happened, and they were pissed off. They came to destroy our planet."

Diamond sighed. "My parents' friends knew that the end was near. They pinned a note to my shirt and told me to stay in the house. And then they went outside."

'No,' thought Mal.

"Their blood was splattered on the windows within ten seconds," said Diamond. "When the killing was over, the Alliance started raiding houses, looking for hideaways to kill and valuables to steal. After they cleaned a house, they burned it to the ground. When the Alliance came to my house, they saw me standing in the corner. The weird thing was, I wasn't scared or crying. A member came over and read the note attached to my shirt."

"Which said **what**, exactly?" asked Mal.

" 'I can be of use to the Alliance. Please spare my life for my lifelong service'. So, the Alliance finished rummaging through my house, took me outside, and burned the place. Once onboard the Alliance ship, they gave me my necklace and told me I was one of theirs now. They trained me and made me what I am today."

"If you're so special to them, why'd they drop you off on that planet?"

"You tell me." said Diamond.

Mal turned and walked out of the infirmary.



"Drinking already, Captain?" asked Zoë as she walked into the kitchen where Mal was sitting, cup in hand. "We haven't even dropped the girl off."

"Clears my mind. Helps me think."

"Is that why you ended up married to Saffron?"

Mal grimaced, recalling the awful memory. "I figure I'm safe from unwanted marriage on my own ship," he said.

"So what are we going to do about the girl?"

Mal sighed. "Dunno. Maybe Wash is right."

"Sir, how much have you had to drink?"

"She's not a full-bread Alliance member," said Mal, taking another drink.

"Sir?"

"I was just in the infirmary. She told me how she was abducted into the Alliance."

"You mean 'inducted'?"

"No. The Alliance ransacked her home planet and took her aboard when she was three. She says they trained her to be what she is today."

"How do you know she wasn't just telling a tale?" asked Zoë, the doubt in her voice.

"The heart monitor. Her pulse stayed the same. It never jacked way up."

"Still, she's Alliance. They could have taught her to lie during all that 'training'."

"Then why'd she push me out of the way and take that bullet?" asked Mal, looking at Zoë. "Words can lie, but actions can't."

"You've been talking to the preacher, haven't you, sir?"

"Just a tad," Mal said, draining his cup.



That night, Diamond stayed in her bunk during dinner. She wasn't very hungry. The doctor probably frowned at her not eating after getting shot. 'But what's he gonna do?' Diamond asked herself. 'Force-feed me?'

Just then, the door opened. Standing there, tray in hand, was the doctor.

"You should eat something," he said.

"Maybe later." said Diamond. She waited for him to say something more, just so she could have an excuse to kick his ass. She was feeling very testy lately. 'Probably due to all the drugs I've been pumped with.'

The doctor nodded uncertainly, set the tray down, and shut the door behind him.

An hour later, the door opened again. This time, the Captain was standing in the doorway. He looked from Diamond to the tray sitting on the floor. "You haven't eaten anything." he said.

"Congrats, you win the 'state-the-obvious' contest." said Diamond. "Can I help you?"

Mal shut the door and help up a white object. "The doctor wanted me to change your dressings."

'There are **so** many things I could say to that,' Diamond thought. But she sat up and rolled her sleeve up.

Mal walked over and undid the bloody bandage. "So," he said. "What was the name of your home planet?"

"Why do you care? What's it matter?"

"We need somewhere to drop you off. I thought you might want to get in touch with your roots." He looked at her arm. "That's a nasty hole you got in your arm."

"Could be in your chest," said Diamond. "My home planet is shit. Just drop me off somewhere so I can try to forget all of this."

"Are you trying to run away from your past?"

"Are you drunk?"

"Only slightly."

Diamond looked at the Captain. "The past is the past and nothing more. It can't be changed, no matter how much you hope and dream."

"You're so cynical."

"You're--"

Mal leaned forward and kissed Diamond. 'This is why I don't drink,' he told himself. But was it all alcohol?

'What am I doing?' Diamond asked herself. 'Why am I enjoying this? Was I drugged?'

But neither could pull away. And the kiss led to a touch. And the touch led to….



Diamond walked off the ship slowly. This was it. Her leaving. At least there were people around this time. And no shooting. She turned back to look at the crew.

"Bye!" called Kaylee. "Have fun!"

'Fun?' thought Diamond. 'The only fun I've ever had involved kicking ass. Oh God, I'm turning into Jayne.'

"Thanks," said Diamond. "For everything." She looked at the Captain. He was staring off into the distance. To look at him, you would have never known what had happened or what had been said.

'But it's for the best, I suppose,' Diamond thought. 'He was drunk. He probably doesn't even remember anything.'

'Does she remember what happened last night?' Mal thought to himself. 'Or did those painkillers create memory blackouts?'

Diamond met Mal's eyes. A flashback of everything that had happened went screaming through their minds. Then she turned and walked off into the crowd.


End file.
